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Trying to make HTPC, Having Trouble

Discussion in 'Home Theater PC' started by jcalton88, Jun 20, 2009.

  1. jcalton88

    jcalton88 Regular member

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    Alright, I have a computer that I am setting up as a HTPC. Right now the specs are this:

    1 TB HDD 7200 RPMs 3 Gb/s
    Xfx Nvidia 9500 GT Graphics Card
    no sound card yet
    4 gigs RAM
    AMD X2 Dual Core Processor 2.4 Ghz(I believe, not sure about the Ghz)

    It displays on my TV fine, but I thought that having DVI converted to HDMI would support audio but I suppose this is my mistake. My TV doesn't support a seperate hookup for audio, so I guess I'll have to use a Surround Sound.

    I'm not too worried about surround sound or True HD sound, I just want to be able to back up my movies and be able to play them without having to worry about a disc getting scratched.

    Right now, when I turn the computer on, the tv makes scratching sounds, is there any fix for this? Or something I possibly overlooked?

    The TV also doesn't have a DVI port so I have to use a DVI-HDMI cable or VGA(also has S-video).

    So I guess my question is, can the card atleast pass-through audio so I can only have the one cable, and if so, what else do I need. I don't have a good surround sound, its just a cheap little one I picked up a while back that right now isn't even hooked up.

    And is there anything else I need to look into getting?

    Sorry for such open-ended questions, this is my first HTPC venture and I'm not quite sure what all I need to do.
     
  2. MysticE

    MysticE Active member

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    Have you turned the TV volume off? You will get no audio through a DVI output.
     
  3. jcalton88

    jcalton88 Regular member

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    Yeah, I've turned the volume off but my ultimate goal is to have the audio played through the tv, either from optical or RCA. So I would like to try and fix it so that it doesn't make the sounds from that input. The computer is the only thing that makes it do that, anything else I hook up through that port is just fine.

    Also, how much does VGA differ from DVI? Is the picture quality the same or close? I know I can hook the HTPC in the VGA and use a rca cable for the sound.

    For a sound card, how could I hook a sound card up to the tv(don't have a surround sound worth using)? I know they all have the 3.5 mm jacks for the different outputs, but do they have one that sends all outputs?
     
  4. MysticE

    MysticE Active member

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    Your post is becoming more confusing. You now say:
    Earlier you said:
    Seeing as you don't have a Sound Card anyway I suggest you just move on an all-in-one MOBO that has sound and HDMI integrated.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379

    HDMI 1.3* certification, support Full HD 1080P
    HDMI is able to provide up to 5Gb/s video transmitting bandwidth and multi-channel high quality audio all through a single cable. Able to transmit superior, uncompressed digital video and audio, HDMI ensures the crispest rendering of digital content up to 1080p without the quality losses associated with analog interfaces and their digital-to-analog conversion. GA-MA78GM-US2H has obtained the latest HDMI 1.3* certification, able to support Full HD 1080p multi-media and HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) which allowing Blu-ray/ HD DVD and other protected contents playback.
     
  5. jcalton88

    jcalton88 Regular member

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    sorry, didn't realize I posted conflicting statements. I didn't think it supported it, but i tried plugging the RCA's in different spots and one worked. Didn't say anything about being able to in the owners manual.

    Now I've had a new problem. The day before yesterday I updated my Nvidia drivers and now it will show a picture when loading windows(the splash screen and the loading bar before windows) and then nothing. I can start it in safe mode and it works, I rolled back the driver and then uninstalled the driver and it worked. I restarted the computer and it didn't work again, i think it reinstalled the driver on reboot.

    I think I'll give that MB a try, I'm desperate to get it working. I have tons of movies on my external HDD that i would like to be able to access without putting my laptop on my Entertainment Center everytime i want to watch a movie.
     
  6. MysticE

    MysticE Active member

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    Are they color coded? Red and White should be audio if RCA jacks are present.

    While loading and in safe mode the screen resolution is just 800×600.

    I don't think it's a driver problem it's a setting problem. You'll have to spend a little time getting it right in Nvidia's Control panel. Figure out your TV's native resolution and explore the various 'Display' options

    [​IMG]

    Spend some time at Nvidia's forums if stuck.
     
  7. jcalton88

    jcalton88 Regular member

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    Well I went back into safe mode and uninstalled and deleted the updated drivers. After that it worked fine. Still can't display in 1920x1080 without having vertical bars for some reason, but I settled for another setting until I can get a new MB.

    With the exception of my laptop, all I've ever owned was Nvidia so I know my way around their settings pretty well, and the comp display worked until I rebooted after the update and then wouldn't work anymore. But all is good now I believe, thanks for the help.

    Is there any way to, or any program that will, display movies kind of like Itunes displays albums? Where I can load the album art and browse a folder that way?
     

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